Welcome! Grab a cup of tea, and enjoy browsing some of the photos and stories. As the 'teawife,' it is my duty to watch and listen and be a supportive friend, and a loving mum and wife. I should post more often, but sticking my nose into everyone's business keeps me busy! Kathy the teawife

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Gluten-free pie crust

Christmas time = Baking time

Although I don't bake near as much as I used to at Christmas, I do like the odd festive treat.

The other day, Dad was telling me that Mom was busy in the kitchen baking our traditional 'bastada' pie, which is sour pork pie that has its roots in Alsace Lorraine, France. The recipe has been part of family Christmases in Castroville, Texas, for generations.

Living in England, I tend to feel separated from my family, heritage and culture, especially at Christmas. Cooking family classics helps to keep the traditions alive, even if we are thousands of miles away from Texas!

Bastada pie is made of minced pork, which is 'soured' in a vinegar mixture along with onion, parsley and bay leaves and left to marinate for 24 to 48 hours. The mixture is then put into a shortcrust pie and baked until golden brown (see above for a photo of my bastada pie!).

Because I'm gluten-intolerant, I can't easily purchase store-bought, ready-to-bake crusts. Therefore, I scoured the internet for recipes and came up with my own shortcrust pastry concoction, which seemed to work a treat!

Use a food processor and whir up the butter with all the flours, salt and xanthan gum.

After the mixture is crumbly, drop in the beaten egg into the mixture and whir again. Now scrape down the edges of your food processor to release some of the butter/flour that might be sticking to the sides and bottom.

Add in the vinegar and continue whirring the mixture.

Check to see if the mixture has the right consistency. If it doesn't, you can add in egg whites (I always have a carton of egg whites in the house).

Don't over process or add too much liquid. You can tell the consistency is right when you can squish the mixture together.

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About Me

Welcome! I am Kathy the Teawife. Having been fortunate to travel around the world and live in the United States, England, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi, I've now settled in a lakehouse nestled in the Colorado Front Range with my recently retired hubby. With our son away pursuing a doctoral degree in genetics and biochemistry at the School of Medicine, University of Cardiff, Wales, hubby and I have loads of time to play and explore. While I started my professional career as a publication writer and editor, my various detours and life events have led me into different avenues. Today, my passions include paper crafting, creating cards, designing mixed media pieces, taking photos, messing around with design software, and blogging. I especially enjoy teaching crafty projects, either in person or online. I've found that paper crafting is a wonderful way to meet new people when moving to new places. Thank you for stopping by for a visit!